Extended Highlights | 2025 Australian Grand Prix

We meet again to witness a spectacle like no other. Welcome to the greatest test of sport that we have. Welcome to Formula One. The time is now. We have moved to the formation lap, and all McLaren front row as we leave the line. So we talk about caution and gamut. And we're off already. No, no way. Isaac Hadjar, we were talking about the rookies, and he has gone into the wall. There is standing water out there. This is surely going to delay the start. But on those intermediates, he's driving also slowly. And just listen. The lines around this circuit aren't all FIA paint. It's a street circuit 51 weeks of the year. That is absolutely brutal ahead of what should have been his Grand Prix debut. Formula One in 2025 begins when the five red lights go out. The new season is underway, and we're racing to turn number one. Max Verstappen's got a good launch. Lando Norris knows it, covers him off. Do we go three wide into turn number one? Can Max get around Oskar? No, he can't. Lando Norris, then Oskar Piastri. Max Verstappen with good traction, though, trying to move up. And he roars by to take second place in the opening metres of the Grand Prix. Much better traction through there. As we see, Verstappen gain a place on the opening lap. The home hero down to third. George Russell maintains fourth. And Charles Leclerc has improved two positions. He's got past Yuki Tsunoda, and he's into fifth. Yeah, that was Max Verstappen, was able to bring the car for a straighter line out of turn one into two. And he's used that to power past Oskar. And Lando Norris will just be taking a breath as he comes in through turn six. He knows he has a little bit of a gap there, which will just take the pressure off. Ironically, it was the Hajar exit line that Max had, wasn't it? Slightly wider, off the conventional rubber. Oh, big moment into the wall. And the Alpine finds the barriers. Jack Dewan on debut gets no further than the exit of turn number five. The home hero brings out the safety car. Most importantly, he's OK. But we've lost two of the full season rookies by turn five of the first lap. Carlos Sainz has found the wall. It's not just the rookies. I think that's a car issue there for Sainz rather than anything else. That's a bizarre one. And it's under safety car as well. Yeah, I've never seen something like that. It's such low speed in those final two corners. I had like a massive torque surge. The green flag flies around Albert Park once again. And on lap seven, we will move to lap eight of 57 with Lando Norris checking the left-hand mirror to see where Max Verstappen is. We're going racing once again in Melbourne. Can we find a clean lap? Can we make use of the 30 minutes where it's not expected to rain? Well, Max went with him, but it was just enough for Lando to keep the lead at this point. No DRS, so it's difficult to make inroads. You've got to go brave on the brakes, as Albin has a waft to the inside of Yuki Tsunoda. Too far back on this occasion. It just looks, actually, through Turn 1, a bit more confidence into 2 from Lando. And that's what we saw in the opening lap of the first start as well. So Max not looking as confident on these enters. And you can see Oskar's now pushing up onto the gearbox. Let's take another look at how Antonelli got past Hülkenberg. So he's got DRS, he's got a Mercedes, and he's up against a Sauber. But it's nonetheless a tidy pass for Antonelli. Antonelli's had a moment. He's dropped back behind Hülkenberg. He's heading into Turn 4, and he's done what his teammate did in practice. Dipped a wheel, gone round, avoids the wall, and he's back in the Grand Prix. Yeah, easy mistake to make. I say easy to make. Your car doesn't suddenly get any wider. He's a lucky boy. Keeps it going just before the barrier greets him there, and he's back in the race, just losing one position. The man from Melbourne is chasing down the world champion, who is beginning to get braver and braver with the exit curbs. We are heading down from 10 to 11. Heavy on the brakes, down from 180 mph, and Verstappen is off! Verstappen goes deep, brushes the gravel, through goes Piastri. Oskar Piastri up to 2nd. Just Lockheed pumping the brake pedal there to keep the rotation going, not have a massive flat spot and end up making it even worse. It's a good recovery from a mistake that could have cost Max a lot more, but it does unleash now Oskar into 2nd place, and it's a McLaren 1-2. That is Kimi Antonelli going back past the Sauber, and he's back up to 12, having spun away that position a few moments ago. This is Liam Lawson making his way through the field. He was so frustrated with himself yesterday, not putting the lap together, but he's been able to make a position now. This is going to be him improving up the order, and he manages to get past Ocon. Just about! My word, that was risky stuff! Into turn number 9. Well, okay, I'm going to call that 8 of his 9 laps in this Grand Prix, getting away with that. Is there a leakage? A leakage of what? I have the seat full of water, like full of water. Must be the water. Let's add that to the World's of Freedom. Charles Leclerc with zingers from the cockpit, and a bit of fluid as well down there. Could this be the battle for the championship? Piastri's not letting his teammate have it easy at all right now. The gap is 1.5 seconds. Yeah, the temptation on the pit wall at McLaren to say, guys, you're doing everything beautifully, just hold position, must be overwhelming. But the moment they interfere, then psychologically you're getting inside the driver's heads. They've got to let them race. 23-year-old versus 25-year-old. Both of them would have seen the numbers from the wind tunnel. Both of them would have known what we didn't about the actual performance of the car. And they would have known that this is a potential championship season for both of them. McLaren started this weekend by announcing they've got both drivers signed up long term. Oskar Piastri has a bumper contract, and he has the race leader close ahead of him. Look at the distance between the two McLarens. That's what 3 tenths of a second looks like. Oskar, we should hold position, please hold position. Transition to the dry, clear the back markers. OK, I'm faster, but OK. Oskar Piastri's response on the radio. I'm faster, but OK. And instantly we have a strategy call from the team. They've neutralized this fight right now. You're not going to get Oskar Piastri complying with a team order for the win once this track has dried out. He simply is not prepared to accept that. I would imagine purely because this is the boy. Oh, he was deep into 6th. He was deep into 6th, and that has extended the gap just wide into the 6th turn of the racetrack, and he's lost a load of momentum. The driver in the suburb of Brighton, a few miles away from here, where he heard the engine, the roar of F1 engines growing up as a kid. Yeah, it's one of the most difficult parts of the management. Oh, into the wall we go. Fernando Alonso hits the barriers to bring out what will be a virtual safety car at minimum. And he was coming out of turn 6. The Aston Martin clatters the wall, and we have our fourth retirement from the Grand Prix. Serrano on the wet line on the way down into 6th. Oof. Actually, you can't really say he was offline as he went through the exit of that kerb and 6th, but there was a gravel or something on the... No, he didn't actually go as far over the line, and that seems to be enough to have broken traction. It comes very early for him, doesn't it? As he's trying to hunt down Pierre Gasly ahead at the back end of the points. Is he just slightly, as you say, DC, to the right-hand side? It's a difficult traction zone as well. It's a long straight after this coming through these kerb corners, and it's an important traction zone. You're coming over the kerb, it's bumpy. So talk about the difficulty of keeping temperature in the intermediate earlier in the Grand Prix. This is going to be challenging. Hard tyres as well for the McLaren boys. Out goes Norris. Slower stop for Piastri, but it won't matter. He should still come out ahead of Verstappen, who dives in as well. And he makes his stop, having had to extend for a long time for this moment. Oskar Piastri is geeing his teammate through. Turn number 11. And as we reach 12, 13 and 14, the green flag will fly once again at Albert Park. We've got a new race on our hands as we cross the line, and we go racing once again. Lando Norris leads. Oskar Piastri trying to take it away and trying to take home victory. Max Verstappen trying to be more effective on the slick tyre than he was on the intermediate. And we go racing once again. The top three going to battle once more. Yeah, these guys are being challenged in this opening Grand Prix in a way that you wouldn't normally hope later in the year. In three laps, Class 3 rain expected, lasting for two laps. Class 3 is a lot. Yes, this is what we see for the radar, but we'll have to wait for it. Here comes the rain. Yeah, well, they've all committed. As far as I can see, everyone's gone by. That was a half. Look, there's the lock-up. Can he rotate the car? Yuki Tsunoda, he can. It's come past Charles Leclerc already on the restart. Leclerc has been done by Tsunoda, hasn't he? He was ahead from the start. You're absolutely right. So we're forecasting that we won't be able to stay on dry tyres. We think it will be heavy enough for Inter. Mercedes don't want to see their drivers try and squirm around the racetrack on the slicks when the heavy rain comes down. So we're going to have a very busy pit lane again. And there's rain drops on the commentary box window. Yeah, this looks like it's going to be a short, sharp dump of rain. Will it go beyond an intermediate? If you find yourself trying to scurry around for one lap more on the slick, you could lose tens of seconds. Does anyone gamble this lap and pre-empt it? Charles Leclerc trying to come back. Remember, the medium tyre is off. Go the McLarens! First of all, Lando Norris, then Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen. He's on nine to take second place. And he does so as the Australian driver spins on the penultimate corner of the racetrack. Can he keep the car going? Is that the moment that home victory dreams are dashed for Oscar Piastri? And Verstappen's stayed out. Verstappen leads the Grand Prix. Lando Norris comes into pit, and it's Max Verstappen who rolls the dice, along with Yuki Tsunoda, who is up to second place. Lewis Hamilton, third for Ferrari, on debut. And that might have been a slow stop for Lando Norris. Still reversing back onto the racetrack. Oscar Piastri won't give up on this one. And the crowd love his endeavour to stay in the Grand Prix. Look at how much time he's lost. He was listed as out. He can change that. Oscar Piastri was in second place. And then the rain came, both McLarens off the road. Yeah, and then crucially, Lando got it back on the tarmac earlier. Oscar, when he rejoined, just too much momentum. And off he went to the grass. Yuki Tsunoda was able to get past Charles Leclerc. He had a spin whilst we were watching the McLarens. The ponchos are down. Verstappen might not pit. He might have just gambled this, and he doesn't pit. He stays out. Hamilton passes Tsunoda for second and third. I think they've stayed out as well. It's a gamble for those that have pitted. It's a gamble for those that stayed out. Looks like the rain is coming here now. We need to make a decision. I understand, Max. We will let you know. And now Lewis Hamilton. So ahead of him, you saw Yuki Tsunoda going off and Hamilton going around the outside. Is the rain here to stay? Does Max at some point bail out of this? Or is he going to have to brave it and hope that this track dries up enough? But it's too slippery for him. The thing is, it's getting bright in front of a comm box, but where the rain is, he's lost tyre temperature. He's losing massive amounts of time, but the team have decided to stay out. All or nothing for Verstappen and Red Bull. They're all in for the win. No, he peels in. He peels in. They can't hang on on slick tyres on a wet track any longer. Will Lewis Hamilton try and do the opposite to try and claim victory on debut for Ferrari? Surely he's going to be losing too much time if he stays out. He's going to gamble! Lewis Hamilton leads on Ferrari debut. Charles Leclerc is second. Lando Norris is in the intermediate tyres and he's got a chance to catch them and reclaim first place in the race. The rain comes down. Yeah, Norris is already with Hamilton. It's not going to work, surely. Charles Leclerc to second place. And now Norris is close to the back of Lewis Hamilton. Ferrari stayed out on the slick tyre. Extraordinary Grand Prix. Amazing, they both stayed out. We are leading the race. Yeah, it's very sippy, mate. It's more rain coming down. Norris leads into the wall. Goes Liam Lawson. He's done the same thing in the first couple of turns on the racetrack. The Kiwi has hit the barriers. This will be a safety car again. OK, well, a safety car changes things again. And off the road we go with Gabriel Bortoletto, the rookie struggling in the wet again. Bortoletto, wheel on the kerb. And that momentum, we've seen that a lot this weekend. We have indeed the reigning Formula 2 champion making his first start in Formula 1. And that's the moment that the traction broke on the salvo into the barrier. And another incident at turn 13. We've seen plenty of them. The clunk into the barrier for the second red ball. Liam Lawson finding himself out of his 12th Formula 1 Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton, pitch from second place. He doesn't think it's the right tyre, even though they were slowed down by the safety car's pace. The new order of the race. Norris, Verstappen, Russell, Albon, then Antonelli on debut in 5th. Stroll is 6th. Hülkenberg is now in 7th place. Gasly is ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc. Well, what balance have you got on lap 52 of 57? With it going the distance, with the win in the balance, can Lando Norris break clear? They're all fighting the cars, DC. Yeah, Max Verstappen had to lift out. Now he's given George Russell a clear sight. And Slipstream, as they run down into turn 3, pressure off Lando Norris. Now let's see how the cars are operating with the track. Looking dry again. They're on the intermediate tyres and there's no time to come in, put the slicks on and get the benefit of running. They're on these tyres to the end now. Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc on the restart. Super close together, heading into turn 2. And Charles Leclerc able to get past his teammate and up to 9th place. It is a 1.6 second lead for the driver in 1st place. Will be the first time that Lando Norris has won the season opener. And how about that lap from Kimi Antonelli? He's putting Albon under massive pressure for 4th position right now. The driver on debut in Formula 1 as over the road goes Gasly and he blocks the path of Leclerc, which will bring Hamilton into play. Yeah, Hamilton will have momentum and will he follow his teammate through? Yep, round the outside on the brakes. Leclerc gets by, Hamilton gets by and that error into the first turn of the racetrack costs Pierre Gasly, who drops down to 10th. Piastri trying to take at least a point away from what will be a day of hurt. A day where he could have found himself at the front. And talking at the front, the gap has come down to 6 tenths of a second. Max Verstappen is heaping the pressure on Lando Norris out front. Is it going to be Max Verstappen? Snatching, stealing, somehow finding his way to the top step again. Will it be Lando Norris with a 5th career win and his first one in a season opener? The World Champion is heaping the pressure on. One wide moment for Lando Norris. The dry line is at car's width. This generational talent trying to win his 5th World Championship in a row this year. He's applying the pressure like only he can. And Antonelli's got up to 4th. What a debut for the Italian teenager. He's passed Alex Albon with the penultimate lap of the race on the board. But we are heading to the final lap of the Grand Prix. Will Lando Norris be able to weather the storm after an extraordinary Grand Prix, after an incredible race? 3.2 miles to decide our winner. Yeah, if it's going to happen at all, I think it's going to be down into 4th. But Verstappen, you can see, a little bit wide, just getting out on the water. And that's given him, given Lando Norris, a breathing space down into 4th. So it's all going to be at the back of the circuit. This is in the balance. One wide moment, one lock-up. And Verstappen will punish you. Norris, who took the fight to him last year and couldn't get him into the danger zone until Brazil. How did Verstappen respond? 17th to the win. How is Norris responding? He's showing him the way around this Albert Park circuit. The gap under a second as we head into the high-speed turns at 9 and 10 with Verstappen getting so close. Yeah, but he's in the dirty air through these high-speed chicanes. This should just be enough for Lando to break free. He looks into the left mirror. He sees a four-time world champion. He's not had the opportunity for a late send. Norris has a couple of corners to go. Antonelli has a five-second time penalty for an unsafe release. That will drop him down behind Alex Albon. But Lando Norris was checking his mirrors a few corners ago. Now he sees the crowd rise to applaud him as the winner. Norris weathers the storm. The British driver sees the chequered flag first. Lando Norris wins the Australian Grand Prix in a brilliant battle all the way to the flag. He beat Max Verstappen by eight-tenths of a second. George Russell completes the podium, and Kimi Antonelli comes home in fourth position. Apply the five-second penalty, and it drops down to fifth. Amazing points for Alexander Albon in fourth place for Williams. That's still an incredible debut for Antonelli. But Norris withstood the pressure. Norris, our opening winner of the year. What a P1. Great job. Oof, a little bit of pressure. Well done, boys. Beautifully handled. Executed to the second one second later, and we were done. So well done, everyone. Congrats. Amazing way to start the year. Thank you so much. Oscar Piastri got past Lewis Hamilton on the last lap, and this is how he did it, going all the way around the outside. What a move! Wow. That is commitment. That is bravery. That is anger. That is frustration. And that is no respect for a seven-time world champion. It's dark overhead, and the rain is pouring in. So what's a little bit more spray out there? On the racetrack, on the podium, a magnificent motor race and victory for Lando Norris.